My Newest Apprentice
by Lost-Soul-Redemption
Summary: Slade has reared his ugly head once again and he's looking for a new apprentice. He chooses one of the Titans and threatens to kill another in order to keep his captive in check, however he doesn't choose the Titan you would think. Will our captive Titan be able to explain themselves to the rest of the team or will they forever be under Slade's thumb? Image by MikeLuckas on DA.
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE READ!**

 **(A/N: Hey guys, I know, it's been a while since I've done anything on this site. It's just that I'm heading off to college next month and everything's been a bit hectic, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. But I was going through my computer today looking for a story my boyfriend had asked me for, and I found this which I had started a long time ago. I thought I'd post it to see what you guys think. This story is practically brand new since this is the only complete chapter of it, so this is a trial run and I hope you like it.**

 **TL;DR- A long time ago while watching the "Apprentice" episodes of the original Teen Titans, I thought of something. What if Slade took Raven as his apprentice instead of Robin?)**

* * *

 _I looked around. Everything was engulfed in flames. I stood up. Four red eyes looked at me from every angle. A deep, dark voice finally spoke._

 _You think just because I failed on your sixteenth birthday means I won't come back again?_ it said. _Well, you thought wrong._

 _I looked around and heard my friends scream in agonizing pain. I looked back and suddenly, I felt my cloak burst into flames._

 _Noooooo!_

"No!" Raven screamed.

Raven was in her bed in her darkened room. She glanced at her clock. 10:35 a.m. She had slept in. One of the things Raven usually never does. She got up and took a shower then changed into a clean uniform. Raven walked into the commons room and saw the other four Titans staring at her while taking out decorations for Raven's birthday.

"We heard you scream." Robin explained.

"Is there anything wrong?" Beast Boy asked.

"No," Raven said in her raspy, monotone voice. "Just a bad dream. A nightmare. I'm fine."

A red flashing light came on in the Tower along with a deafening siren. Robin checked the monitors.

"The H.I.V.E. are causing trouble downtown," Robin stated. "Don't worry Raven; we'll put something together for you when we come back."

The young heroes made their way downtown. Jinx came and threw a mailbox at the team with her powers. Raven made her way over to the sorceress, her eyes glow a pale white.

"I can handle her," Raven assured. "You go get the others."

The other four Titans ran over to the other remaining members of the H.I.V.E. Raven threw a random car at Jinx with her dark powers. The pink-haired sorceress was crushed by the vehicle and did not make another appearance. Raven put down the other projectiles she had picked up.

"Okay, that was way too easy."

The empath made her way over to where she had last seen Jinx. Raven moved the car and saw a small device on the ground. The technology looked similar to Cyborg's holo-rings.

"A hologram?" Raven asked. "What's going on here?"

Her eyes widened when she realized the setup. Raven turned around to warn the other Titans when she felt a pain in her back. The empath fell unconscious. A figure pulled Raven's unconscious body into the dark of night.

* * *

Raven's eyes slowly fluttered opened. She looked around and noticed she was in a warehouse, chained to a wall. She tried to escape but somehow the chains were interfering with her powers. When she looked up, she saw the outline of a person. Whoever it was spoke.

"I must say Raven, you're a lot smarter than I had originally thought. Not many people can discover one of my traps so easily."

Slade walked toward Raven and stopped in front of her. He placed his hand under her chin. Raven tried to pull her head out of his grasp but his grip was firm on her chin.

"But I couldn't say the same for your idiotic changeling teammate."

"What did you do to him?" Raven questioned.

"Nothing that he can detect. At least for now." Slade answered, walking toward a large monitor.

The monitor played a scene from the battle. Robin and Beast Boy were fighting Mammoth when Beast Boy got a cut on his arm.

"Through that cut, one my devices was placed. You see Raven, every animal must keep a certain balance in their bodies or they won't survive." Slade explained. "Your friend has mutated DNA that allows him to take the form of various animals. If that balance is disrupted in him, what do you think will happen?"

Raven's eyes widened.

"Precisely," Slade said once he realized she caught on. "Whatever what happens to a normal animal will happen to Beast Boy a hundredfold."

"What makes you think he'll listen to you?" Raven asked. "He barely listens to the rest of us."

"Oh, I know he won't," Slade said. "But unless you want me to destroy him, _you_ will."

"Why him?" Raven asked. "Why Beast Boy? Why not one of the others? They're all my friends. I would fight to save any one of them."

"Yes. While that is true, you feel differently for Beast Boy then you do for the others," Slade stated. "And though you don't want to admit it, you care for him a little more, you watch out for him a little more, and, believe it or not, you listen to him a little more."

Raven looked back down.

"Whether or not you'll say it aloud, you love Beast Boy. You of all people know that love is a weakness. Now, I'll use your weakness against you." Slade maliciously said.

"Why are you doing this?" Raven asked.

"I am in need of an apprentice. Someone to follow in my footsteps," Slade explained. "I had originally thought of recruiting Robin, but he is too defiant. He would fight back no matter what the odds or stakes. You, however, will lose hope at some point. You are able to be broken."

"What's your point?" Raven asked. "I could escape and tell Cyborg about the device, and he could get it out of Beast Boy."

"But how do you know I wouldn't kill Beast Boy before you got there?" Slade asked.

Raven put her head down, knowing she had no more 'what if' situations.

"Let me put it this way, if you do exactly what I say, if you follow every order, if you never speak to your friends again, I will let him live. But, if you disobey me, if you ignore even the smallest order, I will annihilate Beast Boy from the inside and I will make you watch and by the end of it all, I'll make you believe it was your fault." Slade explained.

"Fine, I'll…I'll do it." Raven said, defeated.

"Excellent," Slade said. "And I know what you're thinking. Your so-called father did not ask me to do this. This is all my own."

Slade picked up a uniform and retracted the chains holding Raven. He placed the uniform in her hands. Raven walked away to change into the uniform.

"Oh, and Raven?" Slade spoke.

Raven slightly turned her ear toward the villain.

"Happy 17th birthday."


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Teen Titans or any of the characters mentioned in this story.**

* * *

"Guys, any sign of Raven yet?" Robin asked from the top of Titans Tower.

"No sign of her on the east side and I'm analyzing the scene of the fight," Cyborg said. "There's not a lot of damage except a car. Raven and Jinx definitely fought and I can tell Raven won, but I can't tell where they went."

"I have examined the entire western quadrant of Jump City and there's no evidence of Raven's presence." Starfire checked in.

"I flew all over the south side. No Raven." Beast Boy sighed.

"And I checked the northern side. No sign of her, and her communicator signal is still offline," Robin added. "I'm monitoring all the frequencies, but she hasn't checked in."

"Oh, we are bad friends! We should never have left Raven to do battle alone." Starfire said with a worried tone in her voice.

Beast Boy, landed on the top of a building as a crow, then transformed into his human self. There was bandage on his right arm with a long splotch of blood on it, evidence of the fight that happened not too long before their search for Raven.

"Yeah, especially since the H.I.V.E. wasn't actually there," he said. "It was all a setup."

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "A setup to lure us away from Raven…and we fell for it. We should've known."

"But who took Raven?" Starfire asked. "And why?"

Just as he was about to answer, Robin's communicator started flashing red and playing a siren.

"Titans! Trouble! Slade sighting on the far side of town," Robin said, already on the move. "Let's go!"

* * *

A shadowed figure walked into a darkened laboratory. In the middle of the laboratory was a storage vessel that held a thermal blaster. The figure walked over to the vessel and placed a circular object on the side. The object was black with several red lights around the circumference of it and in the middle, a large red S. The object blew a hole into the side of the vessel. The figure reached in and grabbed the blaster. Guards ran toward the shadowed person.

"They've stolen the thermal blaster!" the first guard said.

"Stop them!" a second guard shouted.

The figure ran out of the room and jumped off of a ledge, disappearing.

"Where'd they go?" a third guard asked.

Unbeknownst to the guards, the figure was running down a platform, attempting to escape.

"Freeze!" Robin shouted.

Robin and Beast Boy were in front of the figure and Cyborg and Starfire were behind it. The figure pressed a button on its belt and disappeared.

"What the?" Beast Boy said, astonished.

The four Titans looked around. Cyborg turned his head to the left.

"Over there!" Cyborg pointed to his left.

The teenaged heroes ran over toward the shadow. The shadowed figure was stuck between the Titans and the edge of a platform. The figure threw down a smoke grenade disguising itself for a split second. The figure heard a voice in its ears as it was about to say something.

"Not a word," the voice said. "Let them discover for themselves who you are or else I'll waste him."

The voice had distracted the figure from making an escape. The smoke cleared and Robin took a step toward the figure, a birdarang in his hand.

"It's over Slade." Robin said maliciously.

The moonlight shone onto the shadowy figure. Decked out in a black and red jumpsuit with metal accents, the figure looked like Slade or any Slade-related person. However, the only unmistakable features were the gray skin, the red chakra stone, the angled purple hair, and the unforgettable amethyst eyes. The Titans froze, as if they were nailed to the floor.

"That's not Slade," Cyborg said. "That's…"

"…Raven." Beast Boy finished.

* * *

"No way." Robin gasped.

"How could this be?" Starfire asked.

"It can't be-" Cyborg started.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked. "Why are you-?"

Raven cut Beast Boy off by throwing a grenade at team that exploded in their faces, making them jerk back.

"Yo!" Cyborg shouted.

"What is your deal?!" Beast Boy shouts.

The voice buzzed in Raven's ear again through a small radio receiver, marked with Slade's insignia.

"Remember Raven," Slade said through her earpiece. "They're not your friends anymore."

The four heroes closed in on Raven. Raven lifted up the blaster she stole and fired at the stretch of walkway between her and the team.

"Raven, what are you doing?" Robin shouted.

Smoke started to dissipate, revealing that a section of walkway was gone. Raven raised her free hand and disappeared in a ball of dark energy.

"Raven." Beast Boy whispered to himself.

* * *

Raven stepped into Slade's lair and raised the blaster. Slade's voice rang out from the darkened room.

"Excellent Raven, I'm pleased. You're already proving to be the perfect apprentice."

"This deal can't last forever. I hope you know that." Raven growled.

"Oh, yes it can. And it will," Slade replied, stepping into Raven's field of vision. "Beast Boy still has no idea my device is inside his body."

Slade pressed a button and behind him a screen flashed on, showing a layout of Beast Boy's bloodstream. In the changeling's blood, there was a small device. It couldn't have been any bigger than a piece of lint. The device broke open, releasing hundreds of tiny silver objects that flowed alongside Beast Boy's blood cells.

"Nanomites," Slade explained. "They are usually used to kill cancer cells. I've modified these to disrupt Beast Boy's homeostasis, his biological balance. They could remain undetected for years, decades even."

Raven remained silent while Slade walked away from her. Slade suddenly stopped and turned back toward her.

"Unless, of course, you disobey me and I decide to destroy your former love interest with the push of a button." Slade said with the detonator in his hand.

"Sooner or later, you'll let your guard down. I will get that controller, and the instant Beast Boy is out of danger, you will pay." Raven said with her teeth barred in anger.

"That sounds like a threat, young lady," the villain said, once again walking away from the empath. "Quite a good threat, actually. Betrayal, destruction, revenge. You're becoming more like me and your father already."

With that statement, Raven snapped. Her eyebrows formed into a second pair of eyes and all four glowed a bright red as she lunged at Slade. Slade grabbed Raven's wrist and bent her arm behind her back.

"I monitored your vital signs during the mission. Elevated heart rate, adrenaline, endorphins." Slade said in her ear. "You won't admit it, but at some level, you enjoyed stealing for me. It was a thrill, wasn't it?"

Raven broke free of Slade's grip and shook out her hand a bit to relieve some pain as her eyes and eyebrows went back to normal. Slade walked away, did something to the blaster, and placed it onto Raven's right wrist. Raven glanced at the blaster then quickly raised it toward Slade.

"No," Raven replied. "It wasn't."

Slade released a low, sinister chuckle. With the speed of a trained mercenary, Slade took the blaster off of Raven's wrist and pointed it back toward her. Raven stood in a stunned silence.

"Listen to me, Raven," Slade said. "You're going to keep stealing, and you're going to keep getting that thrill. And sooner or later, you'll see things my way."

Slade walked back toward Raven and put the blaster back on her wrist. Raven slowly lowered her arm, knowing that Slade would kill either her or Beast Boy if she fought again.

"Who knows," he continued. "I might even become like a father to you."

Slade walked away and Raven lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I already have a father," Raven mumbled. "One that I never wanted."

* * *

Back at the Tower, the four remaining Titans try to figure out what has made their friend go down this path.

"Perhaps it wasn't the real Raven?" Starfire offered. "Or perhaps she was being controlled?"

"As logical as that sounds, Raven's basically a master at keeping her mind under lock and key," Robin said. "She wouldn't be mind-controlled that easily."

Cyborg looked down at the panel in his left forearm, his face with a stony expression.

"And my scanners confirmed her biometrics," he said. "That was the real Raven…our Raven."

The three of them hung their heads down in sadness. Suddenly, Beast Boy slammed his fist down on the kitchen table.

"It's a lie!" he shouted. "That wasn't Raven! Your scanners are all wrong! Raven's our friend, our teammate, and nothing could ever make her betray us!"

Beast Boy sat down at the kitchen table, sadness overtaking his face.

"Nothing…" he whispered sadly, hanging his head down slightly.

Robin got up and walked over to the changeling, placing a hand on the emerald teen's shoulder. Starfire and Cyborg stood in the commons room behind the couch, watching the other two Titans.

"I know you don't want to believe that it's true," Robin said to Beast Boy. "None of us do…but no matter what the reason, no matter how much we wish it wasn't true…Raven's a criminal now…and just like any other criminal, the Teen Titans have to bring her down."

Beast Boy made no motion or sound. The only sign of him hearing what Robin had said were the tears streaming from his jade eyes. An alarm starts to blare through the room. Cyborg runs over to the computer console. He turned to the others.

"It's her."

* * *

Raven quietly walked up to two large doors with a large W emblazoned across them. Her eyes showed no emotion as she used her powers to blow the doors off their hinges. Raven stepped into the room, ignoring the debris that littered the floor around her. The room was completely empty aside from a strange device surrounded by a force field. Raven walked up to the force field and, after making a portal with her powers, reached out to grab the device.

"You're not walking out of here, Raven!"

The empath froze as she heard the voice. Robin.

 _I knew that this wasn't going to be easy,_ she thought. _But I have to do this. To save Beast Boy._

Raven turned around to be greeted by the faces of her former friends and teammates.

"Not without a fight," Robin added to his previous statement. "Titans! Go!"

Raven charged the four Titans and they did the same to her. Cyborg and Beast Boy, as a tiger, made the first move. Cyborg threw a punch and Beast Boy lunged at Raven, both of which the empath dodged by quickly dashing forward. Raven landed between Robin and Starfire and disappeared before either of them could do anything. The four Titans stood, seemly glued to the floor with shock.

Unperceived by the Titans, Raven ran across the rooftop of the building behind a large lit sign that read _Wayne Enterprises_. She knew she had to make an escape and fast, but was halted by the incessant voice of Slade buzzing in her ear.

"Not so fast, Raven," he said. "You have yet to achieve your objective."

Raven ran faster across the top of the building, a time like this made her glad that she took the time to physically train.

"The device was too heavily guarded," she replied. "I'll have to steal it another-"

"No!" Slade shouted, effectively cutting off Raven's speech and movement. "Go back. Unless you want me to destroy Beast Boy, go back and fight."

Raven held back a growl. Just as she moved to turn around, Robin and the other Titans arrived on the other side of the roof.

"Raven!" Robin shouted.

Raven turned around completely coming face to face with her former teammates once again.

"Look, I don't know what's going on," Robin stated. "But we don't want to fight. We just want to talk."

Raven's eyes paled to a ghostly white as her powers surged around her hands.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

With the uttering of her mantra, Raven blasted Robin backwards past the other three Titans.

"Guess there's nothing to talk about." Cyborg said coldly.

Cyborg launched himself toward Raven. The empath made quick work of him, throwing Cyborg to the side with her powers and detaching the sign's W and using it to keep him still.

 _That won't hold him long, but I have bigger things to worry about._ Raven thought, moving to target Robin.

Raven ran past Beast Boy who looked very reluctant to fight her.

"Rae, please-" the changeling's speech was cut off since Raven was too far away from him to hear it.

Raven fought back the urge to shake her head to get rid of Beast Boy's voice.

 _Block it out. Block it out._ the empath repeated to herself.

Robin leaped up into the air and aimed a kick in Raven's direction. Using her powers as a shield, Raven blocked the barrage of attacks Robin sent her way. A few feet away, Starfire began to charge up a starbolt from her right hand, aiming it at Raven. Uneasiness shown on Starfire's face and she waited to fire.

"Raven…I do not wish to…" Starfire muttered to herself.

The Tameranean stopped charging up her powers, choosing hand-to-hand combat instead. As Starfire threw a punch in Raven's direction, the empath moved away quickly, causing Starfire's fist to collide with Robin instead.

"Robin!" Starfire shouts.

As Starfire focused on Robin, Raven started to make her escape. On the other side of the roof, Cyborg finally managed to dislodge himself from the large W and fired a blast at Raven with his sonic cannon. The empath shouted as the blast collided with her and she lost her balance, rolling toward the edge of the roof. Cyborg ran over to the half-demon, his face showing obvious guilt and distress.

"Raven, are you okay?" he asked.

Without saying a word, Raven blasted Cyborg away with her powers and caused the metal man to topple backwards, taking Robin with him. Raven took the opportunity to stand up. As she did so, Slade's voice droned in her ear again.

"Fight to win, Raven," he ordered. "Use the thermal blaster."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted once again.

The empath's powers launched toward Cyborg and Starfire, swirling around them then lifting them up in the air. Raven then threw a disc with Slade's insignia on it at the A in the _Wayne Enterprises_ sign, causing the light to blast outwards in the Titans' faces. Cyborg and Starfire let out groans as they fell to the ground. With them out of commission for a while, Raven began to fight Robin with her powers.

"Come on, Raven," Robin pleaded, as he defended against her attacks. "Don't make me, do this. I don't want to do this!"

Raven didn't say a word as she used her leg to sweep Robin's feet and caused him to fall. The empath jumped up onto the sign's N and began to make her escape, leaping across the letters.

"Stop!" Beast Boy said, standing on top of the sign's E in a defensive stance. "Don't move."

Raven stood face to face with the changeling, not making a move. Beast Boy glared at the empath.

"I thought I told you to use. That. Blaster," Slade said into Raven's ear. "Attack! Now!"

Raven jerked her head to the side in anger, but complied with Slade's order and raised her right arm in order to aim the blaster. The blaster glowed a bright red as it began to charge. The two teenagers didn't break eye contact for a second, but the glare Beast Boy held softened.

"Raven…you're one of my best friends…I can't fight you," Beast Boy said. "I…."

Beast Boy sighed as he stood normally.

"If you're _**really**_ evil now…" he said, looking down at his feet. "Then go ahead…"

Raven stood as if she was frozen, a look of shock painted on her face. She lowered the blaster.

"Beast Boy, no I-" Raven started. She was cut off as her earpiece shrieked in her ear. She held her hands to her ears as she grunted in pain.

"Raven! I gave you an order," Slade growled. "If you won't attack, my nanomites will."

Raven heard a beep go off in her ear. Beast Boy shouted in agony as his entire body glowed a bright red and he fell of the sign, down to the roof's surface.

"Beast Boy!" Raven shouted as she jumped off the sign to follow him.

The changeling writhed in pain, his right arm clutching his stomach as he groaned. Raven kneeled next to him, tears streaming down her face. The other three Titans were in too much shock to do anything except watch.

"Stop!" Raven begged Slade. "Please stop!"

"Attack, Raven," Slade ordered once again. "It's the only way to save him. Attack with everything you've got!"

Raven reluctantly stood up and raised her blaster at the three Titans and fired, sending them flying and knocking them unconscious. Then, she looked down at Beast Boy, still writhing and groaning in pain.

"Raven…" he choked out, reaching out to her slowly.

"I'm sorry." Raven said through her tears.

A blast rang out into the night. In Slade's hideout, he watched the entire conflict.

"That's my girl."

* * *

 **(A/N: God, that was hard for me to write, but I think I did pretty good. Now, I know the battle didn't go exactly like it did in the actual episode, but I had to work some things around in order to make Beast Boy be the one who didn't fight instead of Starfire. I had Starfire be the one who tried to fire at Raven instead of Cyborg because even before the episode** _ **Switched**_ **, Starfire did try to get to know Raven and do stuff with her, but Raven often shot Starfire down. So I did that to show that Starfire really didn't want to fight either. All in all, I tried to have a specific moment where each of the other four Titans showed reluctance in fighting Raven.**

 **I tried to make it so Raven showed reluctance as well, like only using her powers at certain times. I made her use her powers mostly to distract, disarm, and defend with only two or three times where she used them to attack (mostly to get Slade to shut up). She uses hand-to-hand combat more to attack because, while she doesn't suck at it, it's not her first choice to attack with. This way, she knew she wasn't really injuring the Titans, but it looked like she was really fighting them. Robin seemed to be holding back in the show, so I made Raven hold back here.**

 **Bonus Points**

 **Whoever can answer all these questions correctly can get a sneak peek at the next chapter.**

1\. What side of Jump City did Beast Boy check for Raven?

2\. What was the first thing Raven stole?

3\. What did Slade put into Beast Boy's bloodstream, what do they normally do, and how were they modified?

4\. Why did Beast Boy cry in this chapter?

 **And finally…**

5\. What was Beast Boy about to say to Raven after he said, "I can't fight you…"?

 **Until next time!**


	3. Author's Note

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated. I plan to be writing again soon, it's just that there have been some problems going on with my eyes right now. Because of my eyes, I've had to go to the emergency room and get treatment and all this other stuff. It's been kinda stressful. So the doctor has limited my computer usage to thirty minutes a day until my eyes are completely healed so I don't strain them. I thought I should let you guys know, so you're not thinking I just dropped off the face of the planet after starting a brand new story. My eyes should be healed in another week or so, then I'll be back to writing. But there is stuff that you guys can do in the meantime,**

 **1\. I have set up a new website. It's titled (obviously) _Lost-Soul-Redemption_. ****The link is on my bio, since I can't write it directly in this note. It'll be updated after every story I finish, so go and check that out.**

 **2\. I have a Twitter, so you can follow me at _LSRedemption_. I talk about all sorts of stuff on there and you'll get updates for new chapters and new stories.**

 **3\. I have a Facebook page (that my friend set up since I had no idea how to do that). It's also creatively called _Lost-Soul-Redemption_ and that link is in my bio as well. Be sure to like that page because that one will have more frequent updates than my Twitter.**

 **Well, my computer time is running out, so I'll see you guys when I get better!**


	4. Chapter 3

Beast Boy slowly opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up. He looked around at the carnage that lay on top of the skyscraper. The sign was completely destroyed aside from the 'YNE' at the end of Wayne and the light in the Y was out. Beast Boy locked eyes with the other three Titans who sat in front of him, concern gracing their features.

"You okay, BB?" Cyborg questioned.

"Where's Raven?" Beast Boy asked, ignoring Cyborg's question. "And where'd she learn that glowy hurty trick?"

"She's gone, and I don't think that glow was caused by her," Robin responded. "She started crying when you fell and was begging for it to stop. I came to when she was leaving, and there were still tears on her face."

"Maybe it's Slade who picked up a new trick." Cyborg said.

* * *

Back at Slade's hideout, the large screen played Raven's fight with the Titans. Slade watched as Cyborg's sonic blast knocked Raven toward the edge of the building and he ran toward her before Raven threw back a blast of her own, knocking down the metal man and Robin. Slade hit rewind and the scene played again.

"Thrilling." Slade commented, sounding quite pleased.

The screen then divided into nine different screens, all of them playing different parts of Raven's battle. Slade took a seat in a chair at the screen's controls.

"My apprentice is progressing even faster than I had hoped," the villain said into a recorder built into his suit. "All she needed was a little motivation."

Raven appeared suddenly and sent a blast at the screen, destroying the images.

"I'm done being your puppet." the empath growled, throwing a punch at Slade.

Slade caught Raven's fist easily and flung Raven toward a set of overhead gears. Raven flinched as her head hit one of the gears but she glared at Slade. Slade crossed the room, ending a few feet away from the empath.

"Raven," Slade started. "That was vicious, dishonorable, and ruthless. Excellent work. You're becoming more like me every second."

Slade began to walk away, but suddenly turned around and threw several punches at Raven. The empath countered his attacks blow for blow until Slade caught her in a headlock and lifted her off her feet. Raven struggled against the villain's grip on her throat, but to no avail. The empath instead used her powers to send a small gear hurtling towards Slade's forehead, knocking the man to the floor. As Slade struggled to get up, Raven used the opportunity to bring oxygen back into her body.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Titans Tower operation center, Cyborg was hunched over the computer, typing on its keys very quickly. Suddenly, he straightened up to address the other Titans.

"Think I found something."

Cyborg walked over to Beast Boy who was hooked up to a large machine that was feeding information to the computer screen. Robin and Starfire gave Cyborg their full attention as they stood next to the couch.

"The enhanced sensors are picking up radio interference on the nanoscopic scale." Cyborg explained, typing some more.

An image of Beast Boy's bloodstream filled the screen, Slade's nanomites floating alongside the changeling's blood cells. Starfire let out a gasp.

"Whoa." Robin said.

Beast Boy turned around to look at the screen, then his face froze with shock.

"Those things are inside me?" he questioned. "EWWW!"

"Yeah, those are inside you," Cyborg answered. "Billions of 'em, but they're only inside you."

"Why only me?" Beast Boy asked.

The room was silent as someone tried to come up with an answer to this question. Robin's head jerked upward as the answer came to him.

"Raven loves you."

Beast Boy looked at his leader with a confused expression. Cyborg and Starfire looked at the Boy Wonder with a similar look.

"No, think about it," Robin urged. "Raven was crying when these things started hurting you and she was still crying as she left, probably because she literally just had to shoot you. With this technology at his command, Slade can destroy you whenever he wants…unless Raven does whatever he says."

"This does make sense," Starfire agreed. "Raven has strong feelings for all of us, but she has the strongest feelings for you, Beast Boy."

"Beast Boy," Cyborg said, placing a metallic hand on the changeling's shoulder. "She's trying to save you."

* * *

Back in Slade's lair, Raven took the time to strike first, sending a roundhouse kick to the villain's head. Slade stopped the empath by grabbing her leg and swinging her around into another pile of machinery. Raven let out a grunt as she tried to hold her grip on a large steel crankshaft and pulled herself up to a platform. She looked around quickly, trying to find a way to turn the tide in her favor. Raven located a bank of levers near the edge of the platform and flipped one of them, causing a stationary gear to move and bring Slade closer to her.

As the villain begins to get closer and closer, Raven broke off a lever to use as a makeshift club and her eyes began to glow a ghastly white as her temper began to flare. Slade pulled out a fighting staff much like Robin's and extended it to full length. As steam rose in the room, the two of them glared each other down and Raven charged at Slade with the club, pressing her full weight into each attack. Slade matched her attacks blow for blow and started to overpower her. Slade swung his staff against Raven's head, knocking her into a pipe. He pulled his staff back in order to deal the final blow but Raven dodged at the last second, causing Slade to hit a pipe and lodge his staff inside it.

Raven allowed her powers to surround the club and, with a scream, swung it against Slade's head. The swing had so much force that it knocked Slade down to the ground in front of his monitors, a video of Beast Boy's bloodstream on screen. Raven jumped down to land in front of Slade, a glare settled on her face. _(A/N: Superhero landing!)_

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that." Slade warned, the left side of his mask cracked from Raven's attack.

Raven ripped the silver Slade insignia from her chest, throwing it down in front of the madman.

"I only wish I'd done it sooner." Raven snarled.

Slade let out a low growl that escalated into a loud roar as he charged at Raven. As he gets within range of her, Raven instantly went on the defensive and used her powers as a shield against his attacks. The empath found an opening and swung a foot up to kick Slade, which he once again caught and used to swing Raven across the room. Raven struggled to stand up as Slade approached her.

"I have much to teach you," Slade quipped. "But the first thing you need to learn is gratitude."

Raven glared up at him as she wiped the sweat and light trickles of blood that accumulated during the fight. Slade glanced at his monitor, its screen still showing footage of his nanomites flowing through Beast Boy's veins. As the criminal was distracted, Raven charged at Slade, but he grabbed her arm and slammed her into a wall. He flipped her around so she'd face him and, with a hand wrapped tightly around her throat, lifted Raven up into the air. Raven started gasping for breath and clawing at the felon's hand.

"I made you my apprentice," Slade growled, his face inches away from Raven's. "All my knowledge, all my power, all for you… but the only thing you care about is that _**worthless little changeling**_!"

Slade pulled Raven's hair with his free hand to punctuate his last word, jerking Raven's head backward, her ragged gasps for air filling up the room. Slade removed his hand from her lavender locks and pulls out his detonator.

"If Beast Boy is so distracting, maybe I should just get rid of him."

Raven desperately wanted to throw a punch at Slade…but with the stakes of his ultimatum, she had no choice but to submit to him.

"Don't," Raven gasped out. "I'll…I'll do whatever you say…"

Slade released his grip on Raven's throat and let her fall to the floor. Raven hunched over, letting out ragged coughs and wheezes as she tried to allow air to flow through her semi-bruised windpipe. Slade looked at her in silence with an indescribable expression due to his mask hiding his face.

"Good girl," he finally said, gripping Raven's chin and tilting her head up to look at him. "And, from now on, I'd like you to call me Master."

As Slade started to walk away from Raven, he was hit once by a green blast and then once again by a blue blast. He was knocked back toward the monitors and looked where the two blasts came from. On the other side of the room stood the other four Titans. As Starfire lowered her right arm and Cyborg converted his sonic cannon back into his metallic hand, Beast Boy took a step forward with his eyes filled with determination. _(A/N: It fills you with determination.)_

"Leave. Her. Alone."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! I know, cliffhanger. But I thought it would be a good artistic choice to do that because at this point, the show would have cut to commercial right here. I know it's been a bit since I've updated but, like I said, there was the situation with my eyes. Then that healed up last week, so I started writing this. But then IT CAME BACK! I still have problems with my eyes right now, but it is far less severe this time around, so I am allowed to be on the computer long term. But I'm still in a lot of pain…it** _ **is**_ **slowly subsiding. Those prescription-strength painkillers doe. I have been writing a little bit every day, so this story is very close to being done.**

 **I want to give a quick shout out to** DarkDremora4 **. This person has been so awesome because he/she has been the only one reviewing so far, and they have been very active when it comes to this story. You are awesome!**

 **Okay, my boyfriend's bugging me to get off the computer and get some rest so my eyes can heal up again. Keep an eye out for the next chapter!**


	5. Author's Note 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a while since the last update. I'm not sick anymore, and thank you for all the get well wishes. I'm actually getting ready for college. I'm supposed to be moving in on Thursday and classes start for me next Monday. Now, I'm not discontinuing the story just because I'm going to college. I will still be writing it, along with other stories, it's just that I'm going to be busy for the next two or three weeks. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up so you know what's happening.**

 **Also, I want your opinions on what fandom I should write for next. I've been thinking about either Legend of Korra, Total Drama, or Steven Universe, but it all depends on what you guys want to read. You can either PM me or leave it in a review, I'll definitely see it. So, that's it. Wish me luck!**


	6. Chapter 4

_Raven desperately wanted to throw a punch at Slade…but with the stakes of his ultimatum, she had no choice but to submit to him._

" _Don't," Raven gasped out. "I'll…I'll do whatever you say…"_

 _Slade released his grip on Raven's throat and let her fall to the floor. Raven hunched over, letting out ragged coughs and wheezes as she tried to allow air to flow through her semi-bruised windpipe. Slade looked at her in silence with an indescribable expression due to his mask hiding his face._

" _Good girl," he finally said, gripping Raven's chin and tilting her head up to look at him. "And, from now on, I'd like you to call me Master."_

 _As Slade started to walk away from Raven, he was hit once by a green blast and then once again by a blue blast. He was knocked back toward the monitors and looked where the two blasts came from. On the other side of the room stood the other four Titans. As Starfire lowered her right arm and Cyborg converted his sonic cannon back into his metallic hand, Beast Boy took a step forward with his eyes filled with determination._

" _Leave. Her. Alone."_

* * *

Slade stood up and looked toward his demonic apprentice.

"Raven!" he shouted. "Attack!"

Raven glanced at the monitors which still showed Beast Boy's bloodstream, the nanomites still infecting his system. She ran up to the four Titans and looked at Beast Boy.

"Get out of here!" Raven pleaded. "Go! You don't know what he's done to-"

"Raven," Cyborg interrupted. "He knows."

"And I don't care," Beast Boy said. "You're a part of our team, Rae."

Beast Boy took a step closer to Raven, standing directly in front of her. Raven's eyes were glossed over with tears, one rolling down her cheek. The emerald teen cupped her face and used his thumb to wipe the tear away. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you, Raven," Beast Boy continued. "I'm not leaving here without you."

Raven looked up at the changeling and softly smiled. Beast Boy smiled back. Robin slightly coughed in the background, signaling the presence of the others. Beast Boy slightly flailed his arms and stopped touching Raven.

"I mean, _we're_ not leaving here without you." Beast Boy corrected, a blush settling on his cheeks.

"How very touching," Slade's voice floated from the other end of the room, his hand on the detonator's button. "But Raven doesn't need any friends."

Slade pressed the button on the detonator and, right on cue, Beast Boy began glowing a bright red and fell forward into Raven's arms. Raven fought back a scream as Beast Boy's body began to slowly die in her arms.

"This is the price for your disobedience, Raven," Slade said, standing not too far behind the empath. "Now do as I command. Attack!"

Beast Boy struggled to lift his head to look up at Raven, tears streaming down his glowing red face. Raven let out a breath, gently laid Beast Boy down on the floor, and turned around to look and Slade.

"No," Raven replied. She quickly looked at Beast Boy and surged her powers around her hand, her eyes glowing white. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

With her mantra said aloud, Raven's body began to glow a bright red as well and she fell to the ground in pain.

"Raven!" both Slade and the other Titans yelled.

Raven looked up at the villain.

"New deal, Slade. If I lose Beast Boy, you lose your apprentice," Raven bargained. "And we all know how you hate to lose."

Slade stared down at the empath with his thumb resting on the detonator as he considered Raven's ultimatum. After some consideration, Slade crushed the detonator in his hand and threw it across the room. The nanomites stopped their assault on Raven and Beast Boy's bodies. As Raven was preoccupied with trying to stand up, Slade raised his foot to stomp on her head. Before he can complete the task, Raven whips up and grabs the villain's leg, causing Slade's eyes to widen.

"Titans! Go!" Robin shouted, acknowledging that they now had the advantage.

The Titans all charged at Slade. Beast Boy transformed into a tiger and swiped his claws and Slade's armor, leaving deep claw marks in the metal. Starfire and Cyborg sent another barrage of blasts toward the villain, knocking him backwards. As Slade tumbled, Raven bound a spell around his feet and tossed him with Robin sending a flying kick to the villain's mask. The right half of Slade's mask fell away and slid across the floor. The villain covered up the exposed part of his face and turned to run away. Slade made a stop to mess with a large machine at the edge of the lair. He turned toward the Titans, the exposed part of his face hidden in shadow.

"Another day, Raven," Slade said, turning a dial on the machine and making it glow red. "Another day."

At the opposite end of the room, Beast Boy transformed back into his human form and the Titans stood dumbfounded as the monitors went black and a red light began to fade in and out. Robin ran toward the exit as the lair started to shake and crumble apart. Gears fell off their placements on the walls and created an obstacle course for the Titans as they tried to make their escape. Robin ran faster as a large gear rolled toward him. Starfire flew past and picked him up and Raven did the same to Beast Boy as Cyborg tore the core out of Slade's detonator and made a mad dash for the door. All the Titans made in out of the lair in one piece and Robin opened the door leading to the outside world.

"Let's go home." he said with a smile.

* * *

The next morning, all of the Titans were in the operations center as Cyborg used Slade's detonator core to get the nanomites out of Beast Boy, already having treated Raven.

"Am I done yet?" Beast Boy questioned, a mask muffling his voice.

Raven, dressed in her usual cloak and leotard, and the other three Titans watched Beast Boy's bloodstream on the monitor. There wasn't a nanomite in sight.

"That's it, y'all," Cyborg announced. "Raven and Beast Boy are officially nanomite-free."

Beast Boy jumped out of the chair with a loud laugh and began to dance, the machines he was hooked up to falling off him.

"Go, Beast Boy! You're probe-less! No probes now! Go, Beast Boy! Go, Beast Boy! Get fun-kay!" the changeling sang as he danced. "Uh! Yeah! Uh, uh, that's right."

Beast Boy threw himself down on the couch, looking pretty proud of himself. Raven rolled her eyes, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Friends, let's celebrate the defeat of Slade!" Starfire said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah!" Cyborg said. "Celebratory breakfast coming up!"

Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin went to the kitchen, leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone at the couch. Beast Boy's body language had changed and now his face looked serious. Raven sat down next to him and looked at him.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Beast Boy let out a sigh and then looked the empath in the eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Raven asked. "For what?"

"When things got bad…for a moment, I really believed that you were like Slade," Beast Boy admitted. "I doubted you. And I'm sorry."

"I doubted myself, Beast Boy," the empath replied. "Focused, serious, determined…as much as I hate to admit it, Slade and I have a lot alike. But there's one big difference…"

Beast Boy looked at Raven and waited for her to finish. Catching the changeling off guard, Raven leaned forward and planted a kiss on Beast Boy's lips. After a few seconds, she pulled away and saw that Beast Boy's face had flushed a reddish-brown, his green skin changing the color of the blood rushing to his face.

"He doesn't know what love is." Raven finished, a light pink dusting her cheeks.

Beast Boy's face lit up with a smile and he pulled Raven in for another kiss. The other Titans watched them from the kitchen for a second with smiles on their faces before getting back to cooking. In that moment, all the Titans knew that out of everything that threatened to break them apart, love could always hold them together.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it! I'm glad you guys stuck with me this long, especially with the long hiatus I went on due to college. I may start writing an accompany piece or two to this story, dealing with Slade's "relationship" with Raven, and then about Beast Boy and Raven's budding romance. It all depends on what time I have and what you guys want. Thanks for reading!**


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